Did Dana set up Franklin to fall...

[brvheart]

I got this from another forum and it did make me think....so lets see what your thoughts are..

After beating The Crow, Rich Franklin was in great shape to run out his current contract (which is ****in pathetic in terms of money) without facing any real threat in his weight division. Rich Franklin was essentially the "face" of the UFC (alongside Liddell), hes clean cut, a good ambasador and generally loyal..he wouldve been able to negotiate a new contract and demand a boat load of cash from the UFC.

Then comes Silva..everyone who knows about MMA, knew the Spider had a heavy advantage against Franklin..let alone a Franklin coming off some serious injuries and a significant amount of time out of the ring....

So what does Dana do to his loyal star..he sets him up in his first fight after a significant lay off against the toughest guy hes ever had to face in his life.

So why does Dana do this??

...So Franklin has absolutely no leverage when negotiating his new contract.

[Python]

I can see this happening. Especially in a day and time where people are about money money money. And not to say how much they may make off of promoting teh Spider now. I hope he carries his Title well I do not know alot about his personality or beliefs but we will see.... I feel bad for Rich and now he comes back TRIUMPHENT and a better person and fighter!

[keithpas]

Dana White may very well have done this but I feel that a champion should face his toughest competition regardless of the circumstances. How would it have looked if Dana set up an easy opponent for Rich after his layoff when everyone knows the toughest opponent is ready to fight? Everyone would be saying that Dana protects his favorite fighters and it would make Rich look like Dana's chump.

[Python]

Then again, how many fights has Silva had in the UFC, as compared to other contenders. Thier are other fighters who have been fighting in the UFC a little longer whom also could produce a matchup with ACE. Swick 5 straight wins for instance why or why not give him a chance even though some may not think he can hang with Rich. Swick thinks he deserves a shot give it to him he wants, let him get what he may deserve even though he may have got a beat down.

[keithpas]

Then again, how many fights has Silva had in the UFC, as compared to other contenders. Thier are other fighters who have been fighting in the UFC a little longer whom also could produce a matchup with ACE. Swick 5 straight wins for instance why or why not give him a chance even though some may not think he can hang with Rich. Swick thinks he deserves a shot give it to him he wants, let him get what he may deserve even though he may have got a beat down.



Thats a reasonable point, even Nate Marquardt would have been a good opponent for Rich. I do think that after Silva's debut there was an awful lot of buzz about him and maybe not as much as Swick and some other MW fighters. I would'nt doubt that Rich was set up to a degree but I would need to see something more solid to really believe it.

[libertywrestler]

i sure hope it wasn't setup that would suck not cool at all to have rigged fights

[Python]

I would not say rigged, but I would say a big Big BIg BIG chance against a very skilled and talented fighter. But I also say nothing against Rich but as a Champion you need to be ready for anything and if you do not feel well or sick you need to speak up regardles of what people think. It is better to postpone than take the chance of a lose!

[brvheart]

i sure hope it wasn't setup that would suck not cool at all to have rigged fights

I am not saying rigged....but rather that Dana knew that there was a strong chance that Rich would lose....not that he told Rich to lose...

[Boo]

I would categorize this as a possibility. I'm not convinced either way. It would be a rotten thing to do, but worse has been done for the sake of the almighty dollar.

Silva getting a shot at the title after one fight in the UFC has certainly been ruminated over enough. Even Ace commented on it.

$35,000 a fight sure is a cheap deal for a posterboy like Ace. Now with a loss and more injuries, he is at a disadvantage when renegotiating.

Soooo...there's motivation for Dana to set Ace up to fall, but would he really do that? No doubt Dana is a good businessman and is a tough negotiator, but this goes beyond that. I believe Dana is genuinely passionate about MMA, and how could he not get an emotional attachment to these champions. Despite all the Dana bashing I hear, I'm just not convinced he's so cut-throat he'd throw Ace to the wolves. For some reason I actually like Dana, but I may be alone in this.

[Storm442]

Then again, how many fights has Silva had in the UFC, as compared to other contenders. Thier are other fighters who have been fighting in the UFC a little longer whom also could produce a matchup with ACE. Swick 5 straight wins for instance why or why not give him a chance even though some may not think he can hang with Rich. Swick thinks he deserves a shot give it to him he wants, let him get what he may deserve even though he may have got a beat down.
This captures my feelings on it.

Dana should have given Swick a shot at it, which would have (I assume) kept Rich as chap, and let Anderson DESTROY a few more people while promoting the Anderson / Rich fight down the road.

Rich had ring rust, due to his injury -and to make more money (which is what Dana is all about) he should have given him an eaiser fight.

.02,
~Storm

[brvheart]

I think that is why Dana did it....Rich would have beat Swick I think, but then would have finished his contract and been able to strngly negotiate a lot more $$. Instead Silva (who beat Rich fairly and convincingly props to him) got the chance and smoked Rich, so now not only does Rich have to get healed etc, but he has not negotiating power and basically has to start all over.

[Easye1982]

I think that is why Dana did it....Rich would have beat Swick I think, but then would have finished his contract and been able to strngly negotiate a lot more $$. Instead Silva (who beat Rich fairly and convincingly props to him) got the chance and smoked Rich, so now not only does Rich have to get healed etc, but he has not negotiating power and basically has to start all over.

Sad but very much close to the truth, I'm sure. Although any fight with Ace would have been a nice size draw...him going out on top vs after a lose is more ground for Dana to stand on. But you all must think about one thing "could" Dana set Rich up to fall....I mean if you a title holder, are you not ment to fight the best there is....no matter who they are or how long they have been doing it. He lose he came into the match, after just finishing a long healing period. And half way beat up already...from over training due to his total lack of training while being hurt. Sure Dana could have given Rich Swick...but in Rich's condition would he have made the fight interesting...given the condition he showed himself to be in. Would Swick have been able to take advantage of some other weakness due to his condition. I see the fight as a lose. Sad but true, everyone has their time to fall.....We will now see the true heart of Ace. A real fighter returns from a lose, with more drive. If anything Dana wants champions to loose, so he can cont. to have rematchs of exciting fights. If Rich had won, would a rematch sell as well....No cause people would say that he beat him once he'll do it again. But since the champ lost...it puts doubt in people. And thus the rematch sells alot better. Maybe he will do it again. Maybe this time Rich will be ready. "Maybe" is what makes $$ if you have a guy that is a champ for too long the crowd grows bored...and so does the champ.

[Python]

Easye i agree with you 100% and you have a good way of putting things in perspective. On another note I think that is Matt Hughes problem been there to long!!!!!

[keithpas]

I also agree with Easye 100%. The champ is supposed to be able to beat the best. Even though the circumstances surrounding the fight look a little suspicious and I do question Dana White's motives for giving a title fight to a guy who only had one previous fight in the UFC it was still a clean loss and an impressive victory for ANderson Silva. The big question for me is: how will Franklin react to this loss, will he come back strong and fight up to potential or will he fold?

[libertywrestler]

you guys really think he sat up franklin to fall :crutch:

[Easye1982]

you guys really think he sat up franklin to fall :crutch:

Did you not read the last 3 posts??!?:noidea:

[brvheart]

Like I said...I dont think that he told he he was to lose...but I definately think he set him up to take a fall....and knew that Ace had a good chance to lose that fight.

[prophet665]

I think what is getting lost in the shuffle here is that Silva came in and destroyed Franklin. Regardless of how many UFC fights he had, he had the skill to dominate a champion most people thought would be around for a long time. This alone proves he deserved the fight.

I am not one of those people that thinks you must put in your time in the organization to get a title fight. MMA has come a long way and you can get a pretty good idea of a fighter's skill level compared to people in another organization.

Would you make Fedor fight a few warm up fights before letting him destroy Tim Sylvia? Would you make Wandy fight some warm ups before challeging Liddell?

[WouldLuv2FightU]

It is an interesting theory but I'm thinking it is just something made up by a devastated Franklin fan. It's not very detailed, they don't have any sources or evidence other than a simple made up theory. Other than what you guys have already said, especially easye, there are so many other possible reasons Silva was chosen to be Franklin's next opponent. We will never know unless some hard evidence surfaces...right now it is just a post from some random guy on an internet forum.
:bsflag:

[crownate]

he has as much leverage now than he did, more pay per veiws will be sold to see a rematch than just to see him fight to keep the belt

[Storm442]

How many fights will he have to be in before a rematch is set up?

One?
Two?
Three?

[Boo]

How many fights will he have to be in before a rematch is set up?

One?
Two?
Three?

Humm...I would think for Rich's own best interests, a couple. I think the TUF winner should get their shot first also, and then Franklin. I just don't want Franklin coming in to a rematch with ring rust.

[brvheart]

he showed ring rust I thought against Silva....but he needs at least 2 matches before that title shot imo.